SPARK
How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
By Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch and Sean Lynch
Chapter 2: Your Character: The Congruence Between Values and Actions
Exercise 1: Your Character
Exercise 2: Discovering and Developing Mentors
Additional resources available at sparkslead.us
SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
Exercise 1: Your Character
Values are important — not only can they serve as self-fulfilling prophecies, but
they’re important reference points for us when making difficult decisions. When
Sparks live their values, they set a more influential and inspiring example.
The below exercise is designed for you to reflect upon your most important values.
Walk through the exercises step by step and then complete the self-reflection
questions at the end.
Below is a list of commonly held values. Circle 10 that are most important to
you. Feel free to add values in the spaces provided.
Achievement
Fast-paced work
Physical challenge
Advancement for promotion
Financial gain
Pleasure
Adventure
Freedom
Public service
Affection (love & caring)
Friendships
Purity
Arts
Having a family
Quality of work you do
Challenging problems
Helping other people
Quality in relationships
Change & variety
Helping society
Recognition (respect from others)
Close relationships
Honesty
Religion
Community
Independence
Reputation
Competence
Influencing others
Responsibility & accountability
Competition
Inner harmony
Security
Cooperation
Integrity
Self-respect
Country
Intellectual status
Serenity
Creativity
Involvement
Sophistication
Decisiveness
Job tranquility
Stability
Democracy
Knowledge
Status
Ecological awareness
Leadership
Supervising others
Economic security
Location
Time freedom
Effectiveness
Loyalty
Truth
Efficiency
Market position
Wealth
Ethical practice
Meaningful work
Wisdom
Excellence
Merit
Work under pressure
Excitement
Money
Work with others
Expertise
Nature
__________________________
Fame
Personal Growth
__________________________
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SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
Now that you have identified your top ten, imagine you are only permitted to
have five values. What values would you give up? Cross those five off. Now you
can only have four values. Eliminate one more. Finally, bring your list down to
your top three values and rank them in priority. You should now have identified
the number one value in your life that you care most about.
1.
2.
3.
Take a look at the top three values on your list and answer the following
questions.
1. What do these values tell you about yourself?
2.How well are you doing at living these values?
3.What is at least one thing you can commit to in order to live and lead more
authentically?
4.Who must you enlist to support you in this commitment in order to
maximize chances for success?
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SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
Exercise 2: Discovering and Developing Mentors
Sparks recognize that no one achieves lasting success on their own. We all want —
and can benefit greatly from — mentors who can encourage us to be our best and
help us leverage our strengths and confront our blind spots.
Finding these mentors, however, can be difficult. Then, when we have them, it’s hard
to figure out how to nurture these relationships.
This exercise is designed to get you thinking of who within your network can mentor
you and will also give you ideas on how to build these relationships.
Discovering Mentors
1. Who, within your network, do you admire and why? (List several individuals.
These can include personal and professional connections.)
Name
Why I admire this person
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SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
2.Who, among the individuals you listed on the previous page, do you feel
would be open to a mentoring relationship — i.e. a relationship where
you can learn from their experiences, as well as approach them and ask
questions related to challenges or opportunities you’re experiencing?
3.What actions are you going to take immediately to approach these
individuals to start building your relationship? (Actions can include: Inviting
them to coffee/lunch, scheduling a meeting in their office, etc.)
Helpful Hint
When reaching out to a prospective mentor, keep it informal. Here’s some text
that you can use:
Dear [Name],
We’ve worked together for [x] years and I’ve admired how you’ve developed
your career. Would you be interested in grabbing coffee or lunch soon so I can
ask you questions about career navigation? I’m sure your insight, along with
your experiences, could benefit me greatly. As I grow in my profession, I’d love
to learn more from professionals — like yourself — who can share their best
practices.
Thank you,
[Your name]
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SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success
Developing Mentors
After you’ve had a chance to meet with a few prospective mentors, here are a
few activities you can engage in to continue to develop the relationships:
• Put a reminder in your calendar every other month to invite your mentor to
coffee/lunch so you can stay engaged
• Share any career success you have via email
• If they gave you career guidance, share with them your feedback on how
you implemented it
• Send along articles of interest and ask their opinion on it
• When you’re faced with a difficult career decision, ask them for their
opinion — and when they offer it, take it into consideration
• There’s no need to treat mentoring relationships as if you have to form a
pact — keep the relationship informal so you don’t put pressure on yourself
or them
Ultimately, you need to own your mentoring relationships — you can’t expect
your mentors to own them. You can demonstrate ownership by initiating
conversations and sharing news. Keep in mind that your mentors are busy,
which is probably why they’re so successful. Make the relationship easy for
them. Don’t overwhelm them with communication — reach out to them when
it’s appropriate.
Developing mentoring relationships takes time, but they’re worth it. Good luck
on this endeavor!
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